


I Met My Soulmate at Starbucks

by scarletvisionforever



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Starbucks, This is not a soulmate au, asheiji, banana fish - Freeform, banana fish au, but i thought the title sounded cool lol, coffee shop AU, first meeting fluff, i love all these boys, they all deserved to be happy, this is really just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:31:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17473643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletvisionforever/pseuds/scarletvisionforever
Summary: “Why the hell do you want a drink like this?” Ash asked before he could stop himself. Blanca would’ve slapped him upside the head for being so rude. However, Ash believed that given the circumstances, the question was completely called for. Because who the hell wanted this much crap in their drink?-or an au where ash works at starbucks and eiji is an innocent customer who comes in and orders the most ridiculous drink ever





	I Met My Soulmate at Starbucks

**Author's Note:**

> based on a prompt from this [list](http://nerds-are-cool.tumblr.com/post/133544218971/if-youre-struggling-for-au-ideas-take)!! 
> 
> this is my first time writing for my banana fish babies so i hope i do them some justice and i hope everyone enjoys reading this :) 
> 
> disclaimer: i do not own any of the characters in this story, nor do i own starbucks. 
> 
> ps: i also have nothing against starbucks or anyone who goes to it (i actually really love getting drinks from starbucks) - so any shit talked about the lovely coffee shop in this oneshot is just there for the sake of the story~

Ash _hated_ working at Starbucks. It had to be the most draining job in the entire world. And coming from him, that really meant something, because he had worked as an assistant in a Kindergarten classroom for three months as well and that wasn’t nearly as draining as this crap was.

It was the people who made the job so hard to stand, the pretentious customers who would come in and order a _venti_ or a _grande_ double mocha caramel frappuccino because a normal large or medium coffee just wasn’t enough for them. No, no, Starbucks and all of its customers wanted to be the most snooty coffee shop out there, which they definitely accomplished, there was no doubt about that.

Every day, Ash would get the same variety of customers (mostly white teenage girls) who would order their stupid over complicated drinks and giggle about how nice Tony’s ass looked in those jeans or Kim Kardashian blowing her nose in public. It was exhausting. A guy could only fake a smile for so long before going insane.

The real worst part of the job though, the part that made him want to take a gun and blow his own brains out, was when the customers tried flirting with him. It was like they thought the Starbucks he worked in was located in some sort of fantasy world, and they could use lines like, ‘ _how about instead of writing down my name, you write down your number’_ or _‘i’ll have a venti frap with an extra side of hot blond with green eyes.’_

Yes, people _actually_ said that kind of shit to him.

Ash’s urge to punch them in the face afterwards was overwhelming, but he was nothing if not a good actor, so he always laughed it off and politely rejected them, usually saying something along the lines of, _‘oh, i’m not sure my girlfriend would like that,’_ and then afterwards promising that he would let the person flirting with him know when he was single again.

Shorter, Ash’s barista co-worker, best friend, and partner in crime, always sniggered at him when he made a comment such as that because he knew full well that Ash was incredibly single and so picky he was never ready to mingle. The dumbass almost gave him away a few times because his lack of subtleness was overwhelming. Ash usually tried to look past that though because working with Shorter was the only good thing about this godforsaken job.

Speaking of Shorter, he was running late as usual and Ash was suck prepping the shop for opening all by himself. The prep work wasn’t hard or anything, just annoying, but he was grateful for it because this time of the day before the shop opened was the absolute best time of the day. It was quiet and peaceful, no teenage girls giggling, or business people rushing him to get their coffee made quick because they were going to be late for work. It was just him and hi- _SLAM_

“Ah shit, I’m late again aren’t I?” Shorter asked breathlessly after bursting through the door, pushing it open so hard that it hit the wall behind it with a loud bang.

“You always are, Shorter,” Ash informed him, not even bothering to look up and stop wiping down the table he had been trying to get a stain off of for the past few minutes. This was pretty much a daily occurance, so he knew that Shorter would now frantically be making his way towards the back to drop his stuff while trying to fit his poofy purple mohawk underneath the green starbucks cap they were forced to wear. At this point, he actually knew exactly how long it would take for Shorter to walk to the back, throw his stuff in a cubby, put the hat on, and grab an apron before emerging and asking the same question he did every time he walked in late.

“Is Blanca in yet?”

It was usually at this moment that Ash would either answer Shorter and tell him whether or not their boss had arrived to work, or Blanca would walk in the door and pretty much stare directly into Shorter’s soul because he knew Shorter had been late again and could no longer think of anything to say that would discipline him. Lucky for Shorter, today’s answer to that question was the former.

Giving up on the table stain, Ash shook his head and looked over at his friend. “Nah. He’s taking the day off today. He said something about having to go tutor some kid and put me in charge.” 

Shorter sighed with relief. “Thank god, because lately those looks he’s been giving me have been looking more and more and more like _‘you’re fired,’_ and I need this job or Nadia is going to kill me.”

Ash tossed the rag that he was using to wipe down the tables at Shorter. “Then do it, man,” he instructed, “I finished opening prep aside from cleaning those two tables against the wall. Make ‘em shiny. Preferably shinier than your head was back in Freshman year.”

Although surprised at the rag being thrown towards him, Shorter managed to catch it and narrowed his eyes at Ash’s comment about his head. “We don’t talk about that, Lynx. Those were dark times.”

“Actually, they were really bright times because light was constantly reflecting off that bald head of yours,” Ash teased as he made his way back around the counter to make sure nothing else had to be done before the shop opened.

Shorter frowned, mumbling something to himself about Ash being an ass before getting to work wiping down the last two tables in the shop. Once he was done, he proceeded to toss the wet rag at Ash, who deftly caught it and stuck his tongue out at Shorter.

In the ten minutes before 5AM struck, the two of them bickered about whether or not Ash should give Blanca a good review of Shorter’s work behavior when he returned. In the end, no decision was actually reached because the bell above the door jingled as one of their usual customers walked in and greeted the two of them standing behind the counter. 

For the next two hours, business was pretty slow. Their customers were mostly just workers who needed their morning coffee before they could start the day, and a handful of stay-at-home moms who had to drive their kids to school at the crack of dawn. 

It was when 7 struck that things started to pick up around the shop. High school students from the two schools in the area came pouring in, a few of them giggling girls who made comments about Shorter’s purple hair (he took the hat off only 15 minutes after he learned Blanca wasn’t coming in that day) or how cute Ash was. There was also many more members of the workforce who looked somewhat dead on the inside and probably hated their jobs just as much as Ash hated his. 

It wasn’t that Ash liked to torture himself by continuing to work at Starbucks, but rather he didn’t really have much of a choice. Despite having an incredibly high IQ and fantastic grades at his university, Ash always had a really hard time getting hired because he tended to be a little too blunt for his own good. Sure, he could just play his role and suck up to interviewers and employers like every other person looking for employment did, but he was tired of doing that. He did that for three years of high school to a boss that was definitely in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and he never wanted to do it again.

The only reason he had gotten this job at all was because Blanca, who owned the Starbucks branch Ash worked at, just so happened to be his old tutor and was now a friend of his family. He wanted to quit, but Max (his adoptive father, who he liked to mess with and call him by his first name), insisted he keep the job or he was going to have to pay for college all by himself. 

So therefore, he was stuck with no way out until he graduated and could get a real job. 

It was another three hours before things at the shop finally slowed down. The counter was an absolute mess because of how many coffees and frappuccinos and whatever other concoctions that were on the menu had been made, but also because Shorter was a clutz who tended to spill things quite often. Thankfully, with only one customer walking in every few minutes to order something, and the others quietly sitting at their tables reading newspapers or typing on their laptops, Ash instructed Shorter to clean up the mess while he handled customers and drink making. 

During a particularly peaceful moment of silence in the shop, while Ash was counting the cash in the register and Shorter was mopping up the floor, the bell over the door jingled and Ash looked up to see an asian boy with soft-looking black hair and big brown eyes walking towards the counter, clutching a piece of paper in his right hand like his life depended on not losing it. 

Even though Blanca wasn’t here and Ash could technically greet customers however he wanted to, he had practically been programmed to say the typical, “Hi, welcome to Starbucks. What can I get for you?” when the guy finally made it to the register. Honestly, he thought his new customer was way too cute to be coming to a place like this, but he certainly wasn’t going to say that outloud along with his greeting. 

The boy looked up at him and offered a smile before placing the piece of paper he had been holding down on the counter next to the register and sliding it towards Ash. “Hi.. uh, I’m sorry about this order, but this is what I need.” He removed his hand from the top of the paper and ran it through his hair sheepishly. 

Ash’s eyes widened when he looked down at the paper and his gaze landed on the _longest_ order he had ever seen in his entire life. It wasn’t even a bunch of different drinks or anything, it was _one_ drink with about a million different instructions. He wasn’t even finished reading it when the guy apologized again, probably upon seeing Ash’s disgusted facial expression at the order. 

“Why the hell do you want a drink like this?” Ash asked before he could stop himself. Blanca would’ve slapped him upside the head for being so rude. However, Ash believed that given the circumstances, the question was completely called for. Who the hell wanted this much stuff in their drink?

The customer in front of him frowned disapprovingly, crossing his arms. “Why are you questioning my order? Isn’t the customer always right?” 

Ash had to admit, he was a bit taken back by the customer’s defensive response to his question. It was a pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless. Considering the guy’s apologies earlier, he had kind of expected another nervous apology or some sort of explanation for why he wanted a drink like this. But apparently this guy was not only cute, but also pretty damn bold. “In this case, the customer is totally wrong,” Ash countered. This time when he spoke, he could practically feel Blanca’s disapproving glare on the back of his head. “It’s just…” He paused, trying to formulate the rest of his words in the nicest way possible just in case Blanca was actually watching him, “You know this drink is going to be like 50 bucks. We overcharge for everything here.” 

Without a word, the guy reached into his pocket and pulled out a Platinum American Express card before placing it on the counter and sliding it towards Ash, a smug look on his face. “I came prepared.” 

Ash gaped at the card for a quick moment before picking it up and reading the name on it. “Yut-Lung Lee,” he read out loud before looking at his obviously rich customer, “You want your full name on the cup?” 

“No thanks, just Yut-Lung, he hates his last name.” 

Ash lifted a brow. “ _He_ hates his last name? Aren’t you him?”  

Not-Yut-Lung shook his head. “No, no. I’m Eiji, just his friend. Yut-Lung is in the middle of a tutoring session right now and wanted me to grab him some Starbucks.” 

“Well Eiji,” Ash started while putting the card back down on the counter and picking up the piece of paper, “I hope you know that your friend is pretentious as hell ordering a drink like this.” 

“I told him the same thing,” Eiji responded with a shrug, “But he really did not care.” 

Ash was relieved that this Ejii guy didn’t get all up in arms about the comment he made, but also very happy Eiji actually agreed with him. “Alright then. I guess one uh-” he looked down at the paper again, “Venti cascara latte with 8 shots of espresso, 5 pumps of caramel syrup, peppermint syrup, 3 pumps vanilla, extra caramel drizzle, extra mocha drizzle, two sugars, praline topping, crumble topping, chocolate powder, cinnamon powder, extra vanilla powder, no foam, extra hot, 4 butterscotch, extra cinnamon dolce, extra dark chocolate curls, extra cascara topping, and 8 pumps of cascara syrup coming right up.” When he finished reading the order, he looked up to find that Eiji was obviously trying incredibly hard not to laugh. Puffing out his bottom lip and narrowing his eyes, Ash pouted, while also trying extra hard not to blush because of how damn cute Eiji was. “What’s so funny?” 

Eiji stopping trying to hold back his laughter when he looked up at Ash and saw the look on his face. “Ah, it’s just-” he managed to say in between laughter, “That order looked really stupid on paper, but it sounded even more stupid when you said it outloud.” 

“Well you should be laughing at your friend and not at me!” Ash protested, looking away from Eiji partly in defiance and partly because he was having a hard time not staring at the cute boy in front of him. He would _never_ tell anyone this, but Eiji’s laugh made him feel lighter than air. It was stupid because such things only happened in fiction, and Ash knew his life was far from a fairytale. Plus, no one needed to know Ash had a sappy side to him. 

“Don’t worry, Ash, I will laugh at him some more later,” Eiji assured once he managed to compose himself.

Ash’s eyes widened when he realized Eiji had said his name, despite knowing he never actually introduced himself to Eiji. 

Obviously Shorter had been listening and watching the conversation closely because he walked by at that moment, realizing what Ash was thinking, and whispered, “You have a nametag, idiot.” 

Of course. Ash knew he had a nametag. He wore the same name tag every time he came into work and was usually very aware of it too because sometimes he liked to fiddle with it when the shop was slow. But apparently Eiji’s laughter has made his mind lose brain cells to the point where he could no longer remember simple things like his name tag being on his chest. 

“Well, are you going to make that pretentious drink? Or are you going to chicken out?” Eiji asked him after a moment of somewhat awkward silence. 

When Ash looked down at him again, he noticed Eiji’s cheeks were flushed a light pink and Ash swore there was absolutely nothing cuter in the entire world. “One pretentious drink coming right up,” he responded, sticking out his tongue at Eiji playfully before grabbing a venti size cup and going to work. As he put together the drink, he couldn’t help himself but to take a few peeks up at Eiji every once in a while. The first two times, he caught Eiji looking at him too, which led them to both quickly avert their eyes and pretend they weren’t just staring.

 _What the hell was happening right now?_  

Ash had to stop all his weird, fuzzy thoughts in their tracks and clear his head because he had absolutely no idea what was going on. This kinda shit didn’t happen in real life! No one got crushes like he read about in books or saw in movies right after meeting someone for the first time! That crap was all _fake,_ nothing but a hoax created by business people to get stupid citizens to buy flowers and chocolate and believe in stuff like Valentine’s Day. It was not possible to look at someone and be distracted or smitten or anything of the sort. It. Was. Not. 

He was going to prove it right now. As he was putting a pump of vanilla into the drink, he put up as many mental blocks in his mind as he could and glanced up at Eiji once more. This time, Eiji wasn’t looking at him, so Ash didn’t have to tear his eyes away immediately, instead he took a moment to observe the boy. He looked young, probably younger than Ash, but not young enough where thinking he was attractive would make Ash a pedo. And his eyes, they were big, bigger than those of most asian people, but they aided in making him look soft and somewhat innocent. Ash almost felt comforted looking at him, like he could live a peaceful, happy existence for the rest of his life even if he did work at Starbucks until the day he died. 

 _Holy shit._  

Ash had a crush, like a _real_ crush. Okay, maybe not a fully developed, _i want to spend the rest of my life with you_ kind of crush, but there was definitely _something._ He was actually having feelings aside from spite for a customer at Starbucks. He hadn’t felt things like this since he was 12 and a girl in his class shared her cookie with him when he forgot to bring a snack from home.  

Shaking himself out of his thoughts again, he proceeded to continue making the most ridiculous coffee order ever (which he probably messed up while staring at Eiji, but he didn’t care all that much). While he was putting the two sugar packets in, he noticed a note being slipped next to him and looked behind him to see Shorter wink at him once before returning to mopping the floor. 

_‘I saw you put 4 pumps of vanilla in that drink instead of 3. I know you think that guy is cute. Get his number.’_

Damnit. That asshole knew him too well. Worst part about it though was that Shorter was 100% correct. His only worry was that Eiji had 0 interest in him. There was a very, very large chance that Eiji wasn’t gay, or even bi like Ash was. Then asking for his number would just be awkward because even if Ash did just want to be friends (which he would be fine with because Eiji seemed funny), asking for someone’s number usually implied something more than that. And if that’s what Eiji was thinking of, then he would probably never come back again and Ash would lose the chance to get the know one of the only people on the planet who could manage to make him fuck up making a Starbucks drink. 

As if on cue, another note slipped right next to the drink, just below where the other one was. 

 _‘I caught him staring at you about 5 times while you were making that drink. He’s interested. Don’t be a bitch or I’ll shave all your hair off and make fun of you for being bald.’_  

Ash looked back at Shorter again, who gave him a thumbs up this time and gestured with his hands to move faster making that drink. Damn, this whole situation was going to be the death of Ash and Starbucks was the last place he ever wanted to die. 

“You know, I’ve never actually been to Starbucks before today,” Eiji said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. 

When Ash looked up at him, he was staring almost wistfully at the menu as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But then again, it seemed like Eiji could stare longfully at anything and make it seem like he was staring at some sort of angel. “You’re lucky then, want to switch places?” 

Eiji’s gaze switched from the menu to Ash and Ash swore his heart did a flip in his chest. “You really don’t like it here, huh?” 

Ash shook his head. “Not at all. How did you avoid it for so long?”

“It never really interested me to go. Plus, my parents never let me drink coffee back home. They told me that caffeine would eventually kill me if I drank too much of it.” 

Laughing quietly, Ash nodded in agreement. “They’re right, this stuff is shit for your health.” He wasn’t going to tell Eiji, but Ash drank a cup of coffee every day (not the Starbucks crap, of course) and often had soda as well. So basically, the fuel he ran on was caffeine. 

Eiji smiled at Ash after that and he swore that he could hear Shorter whistle behind him. The dumbass was going to ruin this for him if he kept up with shit like that. Ash forced himself to not turn around and punch Shorter, and rather return to his task of making the monstrous drink Eiji’s pretentious friend had ordered. “Where is home for you?” He asked, not wanting to allow the conversation to settle back into silence. 

“Izumo, Japan. I came here to New York to study abroad for my last year of college.” 

Ash scoffed, looking back up at Eiji. “Last year of college? Freshman I would believe, but Senior, there’s no way. How old are you?” As pretty as Eiji was, he looked like he wasn’t a day over 17, maybe 18 if he pushed it a bit. 

“I’m 21!” Eiji retorted angrily, “I bet you’re younger than I am!” 

Shit. Ash was younger than him, but only by a year! “Yeah well… you don’t look it,” he mumbled under his breath, unsure whether or not he wanted Eiji to hear him. 

Eiji frowned. “I heard that.” 

Shrugging, Ash returned to his job, which he was finally almost done with. He didn’t want Eiji to leave, but he also never wanted to make another Starbucks drink like this again.

“Are you almost done with that drink?” Eiji asked, tapping his fingers impatiently on the countertop.

“Yeah, yeah. Be patient, old man. It’s almost finished.”

Eiji rolled his eyes. “This is some bad customer service I’m receiving here. I have no idea how you got hired.”

Ash heard Shorter snicker behind him and this time couldn’t help himself but to pick up the nearest rag to him and toss at right at his friend’s head. Usually, if a customer said anything along those lines to him Ash would be beyond angry (without showing it though, because the customer was _always_ right), but the way Eiji spoke to him was much more playful than anything else. Sure, there was a hint of honesty (or maybe a lot of it), but Eiji’s words weren’t spoken in a mean spirited way. Rather, he was teasing Ash and matching his attitude which was only making Ash fall harder for this old man.  

 _“Finally,”_ Ash breathed after he put the lid on the monstrous concoction he just completed, “It’s all done.” Which meant it was now or never to ask for Eiji’s number. As he carried the drink back over to the register, he could actually feel his heart beginning to beat faster and louder. Was he actually nervous right now? Was he actually _scared?_ Wow, Blanca would be ashamed of him.

He slid the drink towards Eiji and began punching in the ingredients to it into the register so he could figure out exactly how much was owed for it. This was going to be one damn expensive drink, probably the most expensive ever ordered in this particular Starbucks. In fact, when he saw the final number, it was so large that Ash winced a bit. “Okay, your total for today is going to be $30.45.”

Eiji placed his hand over the credit card that was still sitting on the counter from when he took it out before to show Ash. “Aren’t you supposed to ask if I want anything else?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Of course, _sir,_ can I get you anything else today?” It was totally an unnecessary question because who would want to spend anymore after buying such an expensive drink.

“Yes, actually. Can I get your number so we can maybe talk somewhere that doesn’t reek of coffee?”

 _Holy shit._ Ash looked up at Eiji, eyes wide with complete and utter shock. Did that actually just happen? Did Eiji actually just beat him to the punch? Looking at him now, Ash could tell that Eiji was almost as surprised as he was considering his own beautiful brown eyes were blown wide and his cheeks were as red as a tomato. It seemed he hadn’t even expected himself to be so bold.

The two of them stared at each other for a while, only to be interrupted by Shorter clearing his throat behind Ash and nudging him in the back with a mop.

Ash shook himself out of his momentary trance and returned to reality, realizing at that moment that he had yet to actually give Eiji an answer. He had to come back strong, there was no room for error here and definitely no room to turn into a blushing mess- which he absolutely wasn’t _ever_ going to be.

(His face was totally burning though and he wasn’t even near any coffee pots so there really was no other explanation). 

“Sure, yeah. I can totally get you that,” Ash responded, trying his damndest to act cool. He opened up the cash register and grabbed the sticky notes that Blanca kept there (for some reason) so he could write down his name and number and stick it onto the drink Eiji had just ordered. 

Eiji smiled, lifting his hand from the credit card and pushing it towards Ash. He picked the sticky note off the drink and stared at it for a few moments as if to make sure it was real. “Thank you Ash. I’ll be sure to text you right after I leave this Starbucks a crappy review for its poor customer service.”

Ash narrowed his eyes at Eiji while swiping the card. That had to be some sort of challenge, right? Of course it was, and Ash wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. He put on his best customer-serving smile and handed the card back to Eiji, along with a receipt for him to sign. “Well, I must apologize for your unsatisfying experience here at Starbucks. As a proud employee here, I feel it is my _duty_ to make it up to you by taking you out tomorrow night at 8.” 

The blush that was still lingering on Eiji’s cheeks darkened at Ash’s proposition. Obviously, it was him who was shocked this time, but he quickly recovered, shoving the card back into his wallet after signing the receipt and smiling proudly at Ash. “I’ll make sure to keep my expectations high then.” 

“I would expect nothing less.”

Eiji grabbed Yut-Lung’s drink off the counter and nodded, looking Ash in the eyes once more. His teasing demeanor softened then, and his smile became one that reflected pure happiness. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ash. Thanks for making the most ridiculous drink ever. I’ll make sure to text you exactly what Yut-Lung thinks of it when he tries it.”

Ash smiled back at him, not even realizing he looked like a smitten idiot. “Looking forward to it, Eiji. See you tomorrow.”

After another moment of lingering, Eiji finally turned from Ash and headed out the door of Starbucks, leaving Ash to lean against espresso machine next to him, looking like he had just been struck by Cupid’s arrow. 

“Hey lovebird,” Shorter called to him, nudging his arm, “You have a few more customers, get back to work.”

Shorter’s warning snapped Ash out of his moment of happiness and he turned his head to find there was three teenage girls waiting on line giggling about something. With a sigh, he called the first one of them up to the register.

  
Ash _hated_ working at Starbucks, but it was the place where he met his soulmate, so _maybe_ it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> ash, of course, only comes to this conclusion after figuring out that eiji is _the one_ , so he hates starbucks with his entire soul up until that moment xD
> 
> ~
> 
> like you read in my beginning notes, this is my first time writing for banana fish so if anything was ooc, that is why! im still working on trying to get their characters 100% accurate! nonetheless, i hope this little oneshot was decent and that you enjoyed it! im very much looking forward to writing more banana fish in the future! 
> 
> if anyone wants to scream with me about banana fish or yoi you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ashlynxokumura) or [tumblr](https://viktorlovesyuuri.tumblr.com/)! 
> 
> thank you so much for reading!


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